FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | June 26, 2012

Talented students make US team for International Chemistry Olympiad

WASHINGTON, June 26, 2012 —Four high school students have risen to the top in chemistry achievements and will represent the U.S. at the International Chemistry Olympiad (IChO) next month at the University of Maryland, College Park. The four-member team and two alternates are:

City/StateNameHigh School
San Diego, Calif.Jason Ge*Westview
New York, N.Y.Christopher HillenbrandRegis
Hamden, Conn.James DengChoate Rosemary Hall
Bloomfield Hills, Mich.Sidharth ChandDetroit Country Day School
Alternates
Arcadia, Calif.Timothy Man Hay Lee**Arcadia High School
Scarsdale, N.Y.Andrew Guo*Scarsdale High Schoo

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Joan Coyle
202-872-6229
j_coyle@acs.org

The U.S. team will compete with others from more than 70 countries, for gold, silver and bronze medals, July 21-30. The American Chemical Society (ACS) is the official organizer and The Dow Chemical Company is the official sponsor of the international event.

Competition for the U.S. team was intense. It started in the spring when more than 14,000 chemistry students took a rigorous exam in schools across the country. About 1,000 of them advanced to take the national exam for the Chemistry Olympiad, and the top 20 went on to a two-week study camp at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. At the conclusion, the U.S. team and two alternates were selected.

“This year is especially important to the team because, for only the second time in IChO history, the Olympiad will be held in the U.S.,” said ACS president Bassam Z. Shakhashiri, Ph.D. “It’s a great honor for us to be the host country for this Olympics of the mind, especially at a time when a scientifically trained workforce is so critical to our future. We also appreciate the U.S. Senate demonstrating the importance of this Olympiad by passing, with unanimous consent, Senate Resolution 491 recognizing the 44th International Chemistry Olympiad.” (Watch it on CSPAN.)

“At Dow, with more than 100 years of investment in STEM education programs, we know that innovation begins not only in the classroom but also in personal imagination,” said Bo Miller, Global Director for Corporate Citizenship for The Dow Chemical Company and President and Executive Director of The Dow Chemical Company Foundation. “We are excited to use the 44th International Chemistry Olympiad as an opportunity to engage and inspire bright young scientists from across the globe to pursue careers in chemistry as a means of creating solutions to challenges that affect our planet, our communities and improve the human condition.”

The ACS has sponsored the American team annually since the U.S. joined the Olympiad. Principal funding is through the ACS Donald F. and Mildred Topp Othmer Olympiad Endowment with additional support from the Air Force Academy; Advanced Chemistry Development; Carolina Biological Supply Company; Flinn Scientific, Inc.; Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company; Wiley & Sons Publishers; McGraw-Hill Companies; Merck Publishing Group; Prentice Hall Publishers; Texas Instruments, Inc.; University Science Books; and Sigma Aldrich Co.

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Left to right: Jason Ge, Sid Chand,
Chris Hillenbrand, James Deng